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quick and easy nutritional additions
Are you looking for ways to jazz up dinner time with some new ingredients? Here are a few pantry staples that may seem familiar, but can add a nice new taste and texture, as well as some good-tasting nutrition.
Danielle Bean passes on from a reader some simple ingredients that we can add to our meals that are often inexpensive and always nutritious.
Barley: Add it to soups and stews instead of potatoes, pasta or rice. You can also cook it up and make a cold barley salad instead of a pasta salad. Near East also makes a good barley pilaf. A bag of barley is very inexpensive but is great source of nutrition providing fiber, copper, manganese and selenium.
Beans (also known as legumes): Beans come in all different shapes, sizes and colors and all are loaded with protein, soluble fiber, folate, copper, iron, potassium and zinc. You can buy them dried very inexpensively and if you soak them overnight not too much work. I have to admit I buy them canned, but they are still inexpensive. Beans can be added to salads, soups, stews, stir-fries, pasta and rice. If beans give you gas you can do 2 things. Rinse them under cold water before eating or cooking with them or take Beano right before eating beans.
Nuts: Nuts are like beans—- there are many to pick from and have many different shapes and sizes. Nuts are high in monosaturated fats, omega-3 fats, Vitamin E, calcium, and selenium. Since they are high in fat (the heart healthy fat) watch your portion sizes. Some research shows, however, that nuts can help curb appetite because even a small amount fills you up. Nuts can be added to rice, pasta, chicken or green salads. They can be crushed and used as a crumb topping for fruit dishes, sprinkled on top of yogurt or ice cream, or used as a bread coating for meats. They are a great snack too.
Seeds: Seeds are similar to nuts in that they are easy to add to many dishes and packed with Vitamin E, Selenium, calcium and fat. A little bit goes a long way. Sesame, sunflower, poppy, and pumpkin seeds are easy to toss onto top of a salad, into a stir-fry, in fruit bread or muffins, pancake batter, or cookies or to take with you as a quick snack on the go.
I like the barley idea because it’s not something I’ve thought about, until a few months ago when Alton Brown did a whole episode of “Good Eats” on it. I’m partial to Beef Barley soup myself. Hmm, I’m going to have to see if the local supermarkets stock barley.
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